A man looked at a former co-worker the wrong way at Walmart, setting in motion a feud that ended with a shooting near the business they’d once worked at.
Prosser police say the shooting near the Zirkle Fruit Company on Max Benitz Road on Jan. 18 was the result of a months-long feud between an employee and a former employee, according to new court documents.
Emmanuel Munoz, 25, of Prosser, is being held in the Benton County jail on suspicion of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of 32-year-old Marco Pineda. Bail is set at $500,000.
The bad blood between the two apparently began while working together at the fruit company. According to court documents, Pineda told officers he and Munoz did not get along during the 2 1/2 years they worked together. Munoz left the company about six months ago.
The animosity escalated when Pineda saw Munoz in Walmart at some point recently, and “Munoz looked at Pineda in a way that upset Pineda,” according to the documents.
On Jan. 18, he saw Munoz at Cottage Market at 2:40 p.m. and confronted him. That led to a fight and police were called.
Officer Trevor Pottle said both men declined to pursue charges and told police there would be no more problems. Afterward, Pineda returned to work. A friend, who also works at the company, was with him at the time.
Around 4:30 p.m. Pineda was getting off work when the friend called to tell him he had seen Munoz waiting for him nearby. Pineda drove to the area, saw Munoz pull into the parking lot and went to confront him, thinking he wanted to fight.
Pineda told police he saw Munoz holding a gun when he got out of his car and began to run, according to the documents.
Munoz then shot him once in the abdomen, said investigators. Pineda said he dove to the ground to avoid being shot again and ran back toward Max Benitz Road.
Pineda’s friend pulled up next to him, helped him into the vehicle and took him to the hospital. Police found three bullet casings and a trail of blood.
Munoz fled but was arrested a week later on Jan. 25.
